William Caywood Hyten (1790-1882)was the oldest son of Josiah Heighton. He was born in Maryland but moved to Montgomery County, Kentucky with his parents sometime before 1810, probably before 1800. On November 30, 1816, he married Elizabeth Darnall (1802-1876). She was the daughter of Henry and Sally (Turpin) Darnall. Both those names appear frequently in HYTEN writings. Seven of their twelve children were to be born there in Kentucky. It was he who fathered the largest branch on the HYTEN family tree.
The tax lists of Montgomery County, KY, for 1814 list a William Highton, in 1815 a William Hiton, and in 1816 a William Hyton. The name isn't on the 1817 or 1818 lists but reappears in 1819 and 1820. The property that he owned on these tax lists was a single horse. The 1820 census of Montgomery County,Kentucky, lists a William Hyton and family. The ages in the 1820 census would correspond to that of William Caywood Hyten, then age 30, his wife, Elizabeth Darnell, then 18, his brothers Stephen (25) and Thomas (18), sister Milly,between 10 and 15, and someone else over 45. They were still in Montgomery County, Kentucky for the 1830 census though under William C. Hyton.
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| THE TOP OF THE WILLIAM CAYWOOD HYTEN FAMILY TREE |
On or about October 12, 1833, William Caywood’s family left for Hendricks County, Indiana, which was near the end of the newly opened National Highway which eventually ran from Washington,D.C. to St. Louis. His son, Dr. William Henry Hyten, recalled that two days before the departure there was a big family gathering which included his maternal great-grandparents Henry and Sally (Turpin) Darnal who were 107 and104 years old at the time.
They moved to Indiana with the Turpins, Darnalls, and Caywoods, all said to be "anti-slave" families. It would seem that nearly 25 years before the Civil War the question of slavery was beginning to divide the nation.
Yet, in the letter William Henry wrote in 1908 he wrote "It was on my 10th birthday that we left the ‘Old Kentucky Home’. Of course everyone cried. Blacks as well as whites. they were allowed to choose their new masters regardless of price." Ironically in those days it was not unusual to be against slavery while still owning slaves.
The trip to Indiana took 11 to 18 days depending on the account one reads. Dr. William Henry said the trip was "on the road, or rather,getting through the woodsand the stick (?) ponds." When they arrived in Indiana they moved in with the family of his grandfather, Henry Darnall. Henry's family had gone to Indiana a year earlier but he remained in Kentucky, living with William Caywood’s family, because he could not resign his post as Montgomery County sheriff. The house in which they lived that first winter consisted of two separate 12' x 14' log cabins with an open entryway between, all under a single roof.
William Caywood soon bought a nearby 80 acre, wooded plot three miles north of Danville, IN, for $100. With the help of a couple of hired men he cleared the land using the logs to build a 11/2 story house that was 18' x 26'. William Henry said it remained the best house around for five years. Adjacent to this property was another 80 acre plot which was partially cleared. William Caywood bought it for $200 and was able to get ten acres of corn in that first season.
In Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 6, 1833, William C. Hyten bought 320 acres of land in Center Township, Hendricks County, IN, for $775.00 from John L. and Martha Avery. The deed was recorded in Hendricks County in Book 3, page 17, on February 22, 1834. The land is described as "NW quarter of section 27 Town 16 North of Range One West. also East half of SW quarter of Section 22 Town 16 North of Range One West. also West half of SE quarter Section 22 Town 16 North of Range One West." This purchase is the first actually recorded. This land is south of Danville, nearer to Belleville, IN.
At the time he established his first Indiana farm where he was to raise his family of twelve, Hendricks County had only 6 people per square mile. They were residing there when the 1840 census was taken. That census lists him as William Heighton. (Also listed in that census is a John Heighton in Vigo County, IN (Terre Haute). He is in fact a HEIGHTON.)
The 1850 census correctly spelled his name as Wm. C. Hyten, but in 1860 it was spelled Wm. C. Hyton. It seems his name was to endure every possible spelling.
Looking through deed indexes of Indiana land transactions, I found some other later HYTEN land deals involving his children.
On March 17, 1856, Julia L.Hyten, the wife of Johnson Allen Hyten,who had probably just died, bought 40 acres from Stephen Hardwick, the husband of her sister-in-law, Zerilda Hyten-Hardwick. A year after moving to Brick Chapel, on May 1, 1857, his son William Henry Hyten made his first land purchase in northern Putnam County where he was to practice medicine till his death in 1911. On Feb. 12, 1863, William Caywood's son Buckner P. bought 40 acres in Hendricks County.
William Caywood Hyten died of senile paralysis or senile gangrene of the right foot in Hendricks County, IN on June 23, 1882. He was buried on a hilltop on the old homestead in Center Township. His wife Elizabeth who died September30, 1876, is also buried there as were several others maybe including his mother although no tombstone marks her grave.
By the time my son Mark moved to Indianapolis in 1995 I knew where the farm was and how to get in touch with its present owner, Steve Meyers, but it was 1997 before I went there. By then Meyers had cleaned up the site and found a couple more stones. In November 1999, I returned to further clean up the site. That is a separate story told in Chapter 22: Historical Notes. Meyers continues to maintain the site.
The first of William Caywood's sons was William Henry Hyten (1823-1911) who was named after General William Henry (Tippecanoe) Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. In his remembrances he said he was born 5 miles west of Mt.Sterling, Kentucky, near Grass Lick Methodist Church. He attended school at the church as did "John Williams, noted rebel in the late (Civil) war. Also Tom Johnson, who became … a noted wealthy capitalist."
William Henry became the only medical doctor in the HYTEN family. He is one of only a few who had any occupation other than farmer in those early generations. He began his study of medicine in 1848 under a Dr. Depew in Danville, IN. He began practicing there and was listed in the 1850 census of Hendricks County. In 1856 he moved on to Putnam County five miles north of Greencastle, IN, probably to a place called Brick Chapel. In the1860 census he is in Monroe Township of Putnam County. He may have picked this area because Greencastle was the crossing point of the National Highway and Indiana's Lafayette to Jeffersonville Turnpike that opened in 1845. By 1860 two cross-country railroads intersected there too.
In 1864 he moved ten miles north to Parkersburg, IN, where he remained until his death 47 years later. His family was listed there in the 1880 census of Scott Township,Montgomery County, IN. His grandson, Robert Donald, told me that his office was actually in the nearby town of Raccoon. Parkersburg and Raccoon are now practically ghost towns with the latter having fewer than a dozen buildings. Dr.William Henry was described as the type of old family physician who wore a high silk hat and a double-breasted Prince Albert coat.
(It is interesting to note that search indexes reveal two men born in Montgomery County, IN, in the 1868-77 time frame whose middle names are Hyten. William Hyten Pefley (1868-1947) and Robert Hyten Warner (1877- ) were no doubt delivered by William Henry Hyten.)
In his obituary it says his last message to his children was"Children this is death. I will soon be in better hands and what a glad change it will be for me. The hand of God never tires, nor are it's movements aimless. In the study of this wonderful event, we do well to remember that."
He was married twice, first in 1847 to Elizabeth Crawford (1832-1857) who died ten years later. They had three children of whom only one, Mary Clay (1853-1936), survived infancy. In 1859 he married Malinda Goodbar (1832-1905) and they had 8 children. Depending on the source you read, you can find anywhere from 5 to 9 children listed. The confusion seems to have come because so many of them went by nicknames and were therefore sometimes listed twice.
Their first child Depew (1859-1925) was, I guess, named after the doctor who gave William Henry his training. In 1885 Depew married Florence Geneva Goff (1864-1940) and they had three children. Mary Malinda (1889-?) married Albert Z. Mann in 1909, while Wendall Goff (1893) died just after birth. Forrest Clay (1889-?) who was listed as a student at Notre Dame during the 1909-1910 school year, married, went off to Minnesota, and disappeared, thus making him one of the three Hytens lost before I could determine if they had heirs. At the time of the1910 census Depew was a farmer in Scott Township, Montgomery County and Forrest was aged 19 and still at home. Incidentally, William Henry's daughter from his first marriage, Mary Clay, had married a John William Goff.
His second son was John Scott (1861-1909), who went by the name of Scott. In the 1900 census of Putnam County, Indiana, Scott and Rachel J. Hyten are listed with their son William G. (Glen) (1900-1966) and three other boys named Fount (b.2-1889), Walter (b. 1-1891), and Leroy (b. 2-1900). These boys, all born in Kentucky, were hers from a previous marriage to Ned Adams.
Glen was married twice but I think had only a single daughter, Rosella, by his first marriage. The only way I knew of her was through papers he filed after his second marriage in which he sought custody of her. He might also have moved to Minnesota but no one in the area knows for sure.
The third son (Dick) Newton Dickerson (1863-1924) married but had no children. In 1910 he and his wife Dora Hostetter (1869-1953) were in Franklin Township of Putnam County, and he was listed as a house painter. They lived in Raccoon and were members of the Raccoon Methodist Church. The maiden name of Dick's grandmother Melinda Goodbar-Hyten's mother Rachel had been a Hostetter too. Dick was known for his jovial, good nature. Even during his final illness, when his friends would call on him, he would be able to find something funny to say.
By then Dr. William Henry had been widowed again and was living in Scott Township with his unmarried daughters Cora F. (1867-1950) and (Bert) Bertie Finis (1870-1934). Bert was a well-loved school teacher for thirty years. Cora's twin (Effie) Effa Catherine (1867-1939) married Joseph W. Owens in 1893. Effie, too, was a jovial, fun loving person who made those around her enjoy themselves. For years she and her daughter Verda Dell Owens operated the Parkersburg telephone switchboard.
Of William Henry's eight children only (Dailey) William Lockeridge (1865-1935) has great grandchildren named HYTEN. Dailey was the one who caused me the most confusion when it came time to count the good doctor's children. In various places I found him listed as Dailey, William H., William Henry Lockerage, and just plain Lockeridge. The latter name was probably after the man who owned a great deal of land in the area and gave the land on which the town of Raccoon stands. The town was first named Lockeridge but the railroad changed it to Raccoon after a nearby creek.
He was commonly known as Dailey, a nickname that he picked up as a child. It seems that there was a neighbor lady who made the best cookies in the area. Young William would go to her house every day (daily) to get a cookie. In 1910 when he was living on a farm near Rochdale, the census lists him as a laborer but he was also a butcher and grocer. For many years he had his own small grocery in Rochdale. His grandson, Robert Donald, said that he was an avid gardener.
When he was much older, Dailey worked as a meat cutter for his son Donald Clyde (1898-1972). During the1920s and 1930s Donald was the manager of the Kroger store in Crawfordsville which was about 30 miles north of his home place near Rochdale. That farm was a gathering place for all the cousins every summer. Donald's sister Helen Lorene Hyten-Montgomery(1908-) had six daughters, all whom live in the Crawfordsville area.
Donald and Norma Beatrice Shoaf(1909-1968) had two daughters and two sons. (Pattie) Delores Jean Hyten-Wertz (1928-) moved off to Michigan to raise a family but returned to Greencastle. (Joan) Joyce Joan Hyten-Love-Misner (1933-) now lives in Crawfordsville.
Robert Donald (1925-2000) was the oldest son of Donald. Robert was nearly 40 years old before he decided it was time to settle down and get married. A year later he bought the Y-Palace Cafe at the intersection of US 32 and US231 about ten miles north of Greencastle. He ran the Y-Palace with the help of his family and his wife Marion Henrietta Jonas' sisters. The Y-Palace is one of those neat old fashion cafes where neighbors get together over a cup of coffee. Those who write books about traveling the back roads of America would love this place.
The youngest in the family is Hubert Harold (1938-). Hugh graduated from Depauw University in Greencastle. He went to work full time in the personnel department of IBM were he had been working while still in college. His daughter Stephanie Lynn (1962-) was my first contact with the family of Dr.William Henry. She did a lot of looking around for me before I got up to Greencastle myself. Unfortunately, by the time I got up there she had moved to Georgia. His son Joseph Todd (1967-) was just recently married.
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| Page 5-2 JOHNSON ALLEN HYTEN to WILLIAM TODD to GEORGE FELTON |
When the 1850 census was taken, William Caywood's son, Johnson Allen Hyten (1821-1856), was enumerated as a farmer with real estate valued at $500 in Middle Twp. of Hendricks Co. When in died in 1856 he was buried in the plot on the family farm in Danville, IN.
Three years after he died his wife Juliann Darnall (1822-1890) remarried to John Arnold on May 28,1859, in Hendricks County, IN. After the Civil War she, and maybe Arnold, moved with Johnson's children, William Todd (1848-1929), Marsella Kalantha (1855-1926), James Felton(1852-1908), and Felander, to Mt.Pleasant, Missouri. That northwest Missouri community in Gentry County, which had been settled in 1856, was to disappear when the railroad ran south of it and the town of Stanberry was formed on the line. On Dec. 14,1873, she married a third time to Arnold Lightener of Stanberry, MO. The next day, also in Stanberry, MO, Juliann and Johnson's son William Todd Hyten married Francis Isabell Burger(1852-1943).
It now appears probable that Johnson Allen and Juliann had another son who never got into any records. When clearing the farm cemetery in 1999 Ifound two parts of a tombstone which says “David P.H. / son of / J.A. & J.J.” and “Died / June 15, 1851 / Aged 6 ys. 9m./ 23 d”. While the 1850 census lists them only with a two year old son, William (Todd), it does list her name as JuliaAnn J. so that fits.
William Todd, who is sometimes called just Todd, served as a private in the Civil War in Company D of the124th Infantry Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers beginning March 10,1864, as a drummer boy. He had been only 15years and 9 months old when he enlisted. When he was discharged at the war's end on August 31,1865, he was a corporal. Lila Hyten-Stites gave me a picture of him in uniform, looking like a lost little boy.
I don't know for sure where William Todd's first son, George Felton (1874-1945) was born, but his second son Herbert Hayes(1876-1945) was born in Gentry County, MO. His family is listed in the 1880 census of Stanberry, Gentry County, MO, although his wife is referred to as Annie, not Francis. The family is said to have lived briefly in South Dakota before moving on to Kansas. William Todd's two daughters, Lulu May (1885-1970) and Letha Gay (1892-1946), were born near Conway Springs, Kansas, south of Wichita where the family had settled by October, 1882. |
| WILLIAM TODD HYTEN in 1925 and 1864 |
On Sept. 16, 1893 William Todd and his son Herbert Hayes rode into the Cherokee Outlet of the Indian Territory which is just across the state line south of Conway Springs and Sumner County, KS., and claimed land in what is now Grant County, Oklahoma, about 12 miles southeast of Caldwell, KS. In November,1909, William Todd and his wife, Frances, bought town lots in Tonkawa, Kay County, Oklahoma, from the University of Tonkawa. They sold them on August 19, 1912, with the papers being sealed back in Sumner County, Kansas where he had gone to retire. He gave his home as Caldwell, KS, when he applied for his Civil War pension in 1910. Many of his descendants are still in that area, near Wellington, KS. In Grant County, OK, there is a monument to the early settlers called the Homestead Memorial. William Todd’s name is on it.
Herbert Hayes' first two sons, Glenn Valentine (1900-1972) and Harley Hershel (1902-1976), were born on the Hyten's claim in Grant County,Oklahoma, then still the Indian Territory. While living in the Indian Territory Herb carried the mail. In 1903 Herb and his wife, Myrtle Icy Ford (1880-1940), moved to a farm that her father, George Ford, had bought in 1886. It was east of Caldwell, KS, on Highway 81, just south of Drury, KS; a town which no longer exists. Their third child, Pearl Lucille (1905-2001), was born there. Herb and Myrtle lived there until their deaths.
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| WILLIAM TODD, HERBERT HAYES, GLENN VALENTINE, and DALE BERNARD HYTEN |
Besides farming the land, they built a lodge with screened-in porches down by the river and entertained friends there for many years before it burned down. There was a large pond that was stocked with fish and they developed a park area with wildlife such as deer, fox, porcupine, and more. Both Todd and Pearl have given me pictures of friends and family wading in the Chikaskia River below a small dam. Herb seemed to be a man who could make a little money on everything. He rented the lodge out to townspeople and tourists. He also made money trading in deer and pheasant. Even in Depression times people seemed willing to pay a dollar a dozen for pheasant eggs.
While his diaries show Herb to be a hard working farmer who was always looking for a way to stay ahead in a tough business, he also had a great pioneering spirit. On July 6, 1919, Herb and Myrtle loaded their three children, Glenn, Harley, and Pearl, into their new Ford auto with a trailer attached and began a nine month trip through the western United States. It was a rough and hazardous trip over the newly developing road system. Along the way they camped out almost every night, worked in lumber mills in Idaho, ship yards in Oakland, and orchards in Los Angeles, before returning to their Kansas home in time for spring planting.
Glenn kept a diary of the trip which, even condensed,gives one a feel as to the enormous undertaking that this trip was. If you follow the trip on a map you will see that seldom were they able to cover 200 miles in a day. On July 6 they drove to Wichita, conducted some business, and went on to Herrington, KS, for the night. The 8th they made it north 4 miles into Nebraska, the 9th they crossed the Platte River, and the 10th they ferried theMissouri River and stayed in Yankton, South Dakota. On the 11th they turned northeast passing through Brooking,S.D., staying in Ortonville, Minnesota on the 12th. As you follow on a map, many of the towns are on roads that can now be best described as local. On the 14th they were in Glenwood and Osikis and on the 15th crossed the back waters of the Mississippi at Little Falls, staying in Brainard. They finally stopped for a few days at Lake Edna near Nissiva where Herb and his family were able to fish and hunt.
Glenn kept a diary of the trip which, even condensed,gives one a feel as to the enormous undertaking that this trip was. If you follow the trip on a map you will see that seldom were they able to cover 200 miles in a day. On July 6 they drove to Wichita, conducted some business, and went on to Herrington, KS, for the night. The 8th they made it north 4 miles into Nebraska, the 9th they crossed the Platte River, and the 10th they ferried theMissouri River and stayed in Yankton, South Dakota. On the 11th they turned northeast passing through Brooking,S.D., staying in Ortonville, Minnesota on the 12th. As you follow on a map, many of the towns are on roads that can now be best described as local. On the 14th they were in Glenwood and Osikis and on the 15th crossed the back waters of the Mississippi at Little Falls, staying in Brainard. They finally stopped for a few days at Lake Edna near Nissiva where Herb and his family were able to fish and hunt.
The 22nd they moved on toward Canada. By the 26th they were back in the USA staying in Crookston, MN, and Fargo, North Dakota the first two nights. They passed thru Valley City, Jamestown, Cleveland, Bismark, and Hebron arriving at the Badlands on August 2. The next three days saw them in the Montana cities of Terry , Miles City, Rosebud, Forsythe, Howard, Custer, Billings, Columbus, and Livingston. From the 7th to the 13th they camped in Yellowstone National Park. In succeeding days they were in Butte, Anaconda, Warm Springs, Bonner Springs, and Missoula, Montana. On the 20th they were in Wallace, Idaho and on the 21st in Couer D'Alene.
From August 25 to September 2 they all worked in a sawmill in Spokane, Washington. The next two weeks saw them pass through Colfax, Penawawa Ferry, Walla Walla; ferry the Columbia River at Kennewick, then pass through Goldendale and White Salmon. From the 14th to the 18th they were in Portland, Oregon. They went on to Salem the 18th, Eugene the 19th, and Roseburg and Cayonville, Oregon, on the 20th.
For the next month they, along with at least one other family, camped in the southern Oregon mountains near the California border. The number one priority in those days seems to have been hunting. While there the biggest occasion was when Glenn killed his first deer. Day trips were made into the towns of Cow Creek, Azalea, and Glendale. On October 14 they began to move their campsite across the state line into California. It took four days, though, to move past Grant's Pass, Medford, and Ashland. Once settled, Glenn and Harley worked for a week in another sawmill, this time making 50 cents per hour.
On the 26th they began moving south through LaMoine, Redding, RedBluff, Corning, Arbuckle, San Pablo Bay, Benicia, and Martinez. They arrived in Oakland on November 7 for a two month stay. They first took in the sights, ferrying across to San Francisco and going up to the top of an 18 story building to see the city. By the end of the month the boys were working part time at a ship yard as drillers for 52 cents per hour. On January 4, 1920, they headed for Los Angeles by way of Madera and Bakersfield.
They stayed in various places in Los Angeles, Orange, Long Beach, San Diego, Laguna Beach, Santa Anna, and Redondo until April. Along the way they would stay on farms where they often shared dinner at the hosts table or in camp grounds where they would reunite with people they had met earlier. They stayed with friends a couple of times but apparently never in a hotel. While in southern California they went to boxing matches and the boys boxed at the campsites. They joined thousands for a speech by General Pershing in San Diego and took a day trip or two to Tiajuana. For spending money the boys picked lemons for 35 cents an hour. In March Harley worked in a lumberyard while Glenn was sick most of the time. Glenn never mentions whether his father worked when the boys did.
On April 1st they began a three week trip back home. On successive nights they stayed in Redlands; Mecca; El Centro (ten miles from Mexico); 38 miles short of Blythe, in Vicksburg, Arizona; in Buckeye, Phoenix (a town of 40,000); Tucson (30,000); Bisbee; and Douglas. The 11th they stayed in Deming, New Mexico, and the next day arrived in El Paso, Texas, where they stayed until the 17th. While there "in giving our name to a grocer we found people by the name of Hyten. We looked them up and they certainly treated us swell. We were unable to trace our relationship however we were all interested in knowing if there were any more of our tribe in existence." This was the family of Simon Hyten who is in the Thomas Otho branch, my branch.
On the 18th they made it to Alamagordo but the next day they covered only 80 miles as they spent much of the time pushing their car up as now covered mountain. The 19th they passed through Rosewell and Clovis, staying in Elida. It was then on to Amarillo, then Sayre,Oklahoma, and finally their last night on the road in Kingfisher. On April 23 at 2 P.M. they arrived back home. What an adventure it must have been.
Herb's diary documents other trips in later years. In 1928 he and Myrtle took another big loop of the west. This time they went through Denver and Cheyenne on their way to Calgary, Canada. Northeast of there near a place called Cold Luke, Herb noted "we sure burned up the road... if you drive faster than 8 miles per hour I think you should be pinched for speeding." Two weeks later back in Calgary, they headed across the Rocky Mountains at Banff. They went through Washington and Oregon on their way to northern California.
At Los Angeles Herb noted "Out to ocean... were thousands of bathers with plenty of women and girls tanned black and almost naked... no kick however." While there "Hubert, Verlie, ma and I drove to L.A. had a short visit with Emma, Bertha Hyten." The next day they did things with "Frank & wife, Emma, Bertha, and Aunt Dell". Hubert Malcom and Veryl Esther were the children of his brother George Felton. Emma was actually his cousin Emra Ernest, son of James Felton, and Bertha his cousin's wife. Frank probably was Emra's brother who I did not know was married until I read that diary entry. Aunt Dell is Charlotte Della the wife of (Felton) James Felton, who had died back in Stanberry, MO., in 1908. On the way home they stopped at the Grand Canyon which Herb did not like. The cost of their trip, which lasted from July 5 to September 12, was $400.
Two months later they were back on the road again, this time on a hunting trip to Texas which was to last three months. Most of the time was spent in the McAllen-Brownsville region. There can be no doubt how much Herb loved to hunt. At the end of each of his trip his wife laments how badly the hired help had let the farm go while he was away.
1934 was an interesting year in Herb's diary. On January 9th Glenn gave up Harry's Cafe to run a grocery in Wellington. Two days later someone "shot up the town at 9 A.M. Killed a bandit, Red Carson. we got quite a thrill. much blood & broken glass. we saw him after dead." On the 25th "Bank at Wellington robbed" and on the 29th "Luther Masengale shoots Mabelle Weber in a fit of felony." That night he saw a poor fight card (boxing) but Jack Dempsey was the referee.
In May he drove 13 hours to Kansas City to sell wool. In June they visited Pearl and her husband in Amarillo. While there Herb wrote "town is no place for a bird like me. I am enjoying myself but long to behome and look after my own affairs." In August he "Leased Hummewell lots for oil...got $3.50each." In October "mom got 1st on a 60# watermelon at Fair. Pearl's canned peaches also take first."
On January 20, 1935, Glennand Harley bought back Harry's Cafe. Herb and his wife spent the month of February in Hot Spring,Arkansas, "to take the cure." While there they "drove to Benton, Ark. 34 miles, and see a Hyten...Charlie... a third cousin." Two days later on the 28th "Bullet Hyten & wife came over from Benton. We had a swell supper and enjoyed their visit a lot. They are sure live wires. We have planned to visit them Monday." On March 6 they all spent the day together in Little Rock.
Herb's diary entries were interrupted from September 5, 1936 to December 12, 1937 during which time an unspecified illness prevented him from writing. From that point until the diaries stop at the end of 1938 there are many remorseful entries where he apparently felt lonely and aging. One day, June 5,1938, even though 62 years old and "continuing sick most of the winter-like day" he borrows a team of horses and plows a field. His wife was being treated for cancer all year but she didn't die until 1940. One of the last notes is that of Bullet Hyten coming for a visit again.
His son Harley Hershel not only worked with Glenn in the cafe and grocery but also was a teacher and then one of the early Ford dealers in the area. Harley later opened an insurance and finance business which his son Donald Ray (1926-) is now managing.
It was Don's daughter, Sara Lynn (1958-), who was instrumental in getting me started on the final push to write this book. I was in Dallas for my son Mark's wedding in 1986 when I saw Sara's name in the phone book. Sara told me she did not know much about the family but she thought that her Aunt Lila did.
Don's sister, Lila Lorene Hyten-Stites (1928-)provided me with the information I needed to link William, Stephen and Thomas as brothers and thus connect the three branches of the family tree which I had developed. Lila retained her family's love for travel, working part time in the travel business and traveling the world over. Two of her sons have lived overseas. Naturally she is active in her local genealogical society.
Herb's daughter, Pearl (1905-2000), who graduated from Emporia State Teachers College, has been the source of many stories included in the book. She can recall facts from further back than anyone with whom I have talked. After marrying she moved to Amarillo for a while, but as her parents aged, she and her husband Everret Blue returned to live on the family farm with her parents. Everret ran a hardware store, and they stayed on the farm till after her parents passed away.
After retiring from teaching she followed her son Ted Warner Blue to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she lived in a retirement home that, from her description, sounded more like a health spa. Even though in her 80s she regularly swam in the complex's pool. Pearl sent me a lot of very old pictures which I treasure. From the pictures I got later from Todd (William Todd) one can see that Pearl was a very beautiful young girl.
William Todd's daughters, Lulu May(1885-1970) and Letha Gay(1892-1946), married and, although they had no children of their own, Lulu adopted a son and Letha a daughter. Letha married Hallie McCarley who served in WW I but died at age 29. Pearl recalls taking a trip to California with Letha in a new Buick to visit her cousins (James Felton's children). That was in 1927 after Letha's husband Hallie had died. Later, before her father died in 1928, she remarried to Cecil Freeman who also died before her. She lived out her days with her mother, Francis, in Wellington.
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| GEORGE FELTON HYTEN |
When Sherwyn was transferred to Huntsville, Alabama, his parents Hubert and Norine liked it there so much that they moved there too. George's daughter,Meryl Macey (1900-?), married a Johnnie Rash but has vanished and Veryl Esther (1906-1910) died as a child.
Little is known about Johnson Allen's daughter, Marsella, other than that she married a Cross Pierce. Pat Douglas-Smith's data says that his child, Felander (1850-1860), died at age nine, but census records list a daughter, Mary, just born in 1850. Even though I originally thought that Felander was a boy and Mary was another person, now I guess they are the same person. The Hendricks County birth and death records were no help in solving this problem.
The search for the heirs of William Henry Hyten’s other son, (Felton) James Felton (1852-1908), continued right up to three weeks before the second edition of this book was to go to the printers. I had enough information to pencil in almost everyone bu tnot enough hard facts to be sure that what I had was right. As I reread my notes to make sure that I had not left anything out of the book, I noticed a note in a margin saying Blaine Hyten, Felton's great grandson, may have been at Ft. Leavenworth which is where Eleanor Douglas-Embree lives. I had tried to call her several times a year and a half before when I was teaching at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, MO, which is only 40 or 50 miles from Leavenworth, KS. I never reached her then, but this time I did. It turns out that by now Blaine had moved on but to where, Eleanor did not know. I sent a letter to his old Leavenworth address on the hope that it would be forwarded to Blaine. A week later I received a call from his wife Marcea and to my surprise they were living 30 miles away in Belleville, Illinois. The next Saturday was spent at their home going through two boxes of letters, clippings, and photographs that had been passed on to them. I was able to fill in a lot of gaps and clarify a couple of mysteries. It was one of those really fun days for a genealogist.
There were several very old pictures of Felton and his wife, (Della) Charlotte Della Stewart (1861-1952), including a couple of tintypes. His obituary gave me his birth date and the fact that he had lived out his live in Stanberry, MO, where he had come with his mother and step-father after the Civil War. He had been a merchant, farmer, and school teacher. The year of his marriage, 1880, was mentioned and Della's maiden name was spelled Stuart as it was in a couple of other places in Blaine's collection of papers. An 1882 history of Gentry County lists J. F.Hyten as a member and officer of the A.F. & A.M. Lodge of Mt. Pleasantin 1878, 1879, and 1880. The 1900 census lists him and his family except for Frank who would have been 12 at the time. It is possible that Frank was away at school as he was a deaf mute. By 1910 Felton had died but Della was still in Stanberry with Roy, Bea and Zela.
The obituary which was written by the local paper's editor, who had been a friend of Felton for over thirty years, was very nice. It said, "In the death of Mr. Hyten this county lost one of its best citizens....... he lived the life of an honest, hardworking citizen ever cheerful and hopeful. For years he engaged in educational work.......He was one of those citizens that lived to set a good example to others and in his death hundreds will morn his loss." Della was still living in California with one of he children when Herb visited there in 1928.
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| BLAINE HYTEN |
Roy Blaine’s son, Warren F. Hyten(1922-1976), was a career infantry officer in the Army. Warren retired a colonel having served over 25 years. As combat liaison officer to the Chinese during WW2, he fought all over China. When the war ended he was the first "white man" into both Canton and Hong Kong. At the time (September,1945) Japanese soldiers still outnumbered Chinese soldiers in the region so the Japanese retained their arms though no fighting occurred. He accompanied his Nationalist Chinese regiment north and watched them begin their war with Mao and the Communists. Before his return to the United States in 1946, he was sent to Vietnam on a "special mission".
He also served in the Korean Conflict; on the general's staff in Frankfort, Germany; and volunteered for Vietnam where he led a logistical support group. While stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, he graduated cum laude in political science from St.Benedict's College. He retired from the service in 1971 and moved to Brevard County, Florida were he was president of the Brevard County Homeowners Association. His work there was so well thought of that after his death the residents of Indiatlantic, Florida, named a street after him. He died at Kessler Air Force Base, Mississippi, and his funeral services were held at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. I think he is the only HYTEN to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Blaine Warren (1951-) followed his father into the service by way of West Point where he graduated in 1974. After six years in the Army he transferred to the Air Force where he flew C-130s the same plane that my son Mark flew in the Navy. When I met Blaine he was a major stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in a command that was coordinating activities of the Air Force and Army. It was then that he gave me a suitcase full of pictures and papers including Herb’s diaries. I’ve kept the collection together until he retired when I returned it to him.
His brother, Cloyd Miles(1956-), is a professor at Texas Women's University. Randall Bruce(1958-), who lives in New York City, was a good enough comedian to have had a 1990 Showtime special. His post comedian career is surprisingly as a NYC financial consultant. Todd Lowell(1962-) is a writer in Boston. It sure was nice to find them at the last minute.
Felton's first son, Emra Ernest (1881-?), married but had no children. Until I saw Blaine's papers I thought his name was Emory and he had a wife named Emma. Turns out he was actually named Emra and his wife of over 60 years was Bertha Foster. One daughter, Zela Faye (1899-1978), was an unmarried school teacher. Frank, whom I think died before 1959, was a deaf mute. In Herb's diary of his 1928 trip to California he mentions Frank and his wife. At the time I did not know that Frank had been married, but Ginny Hyten confirmed that he had married a girl who also was a deaf mute. In the same entry Herb mentions visiting with "Emma", Bertha and his aunt Della who was Felton's wife.
For the longest time I thought Felton had a daughter named Bea who died of the flu during WW I. When I heard that Zela had written to Eleanor Douglas-Embree in 1969 and referred to her brother Ben who died during the war, I figured that Bea was actually Ben (1892-1917.
William Caywood's third son was Buckner Payne (1829-1911) who had a twin sister, Sarah. Various sources list his wife as Polly Plaster, Polly Cleveland, or Mary Ann Cleveland so for quite awhile I was confused about his family. I now know that he married Polly Plaster in 1857. One source says he then supposedly married Mary Ann Cleveland in 1859. Refuting this idea is the Darnall book which says he married Mary Ann Plaster,the daughter of Mary Ann Cleveland. He had two daughters, Mary Eliza (1859-1909) and Miranda S. (1862-after 1930) I could not find their birth records which might have given a mother’s name. The marriage records of both girls show up in Hendricks County records. Buckner's sister, Sarah, married a William Moberly and went to Missouri.
On June 10, 1857 Buckner bought 120 acres near Boone, Iowa. It was Sec 19, E1/2NE, & SWNE of Sec. 69, T 84 N, R 28 W.
For a while Buckner was a potter in Boone County, Iowa. I'm not sure but I think that he went there first and his brother John Franklin followed him there. The 1875 Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa lists, on page577 in its business directory section, John F. Hyten as a potter in the company of Kegley, Hyten & Co. The Boone, Iowa tax list of August 25,1870, says that the Kegley, Hyten & Co. building was on Lots 3 & 4,Block 14, one block west of the courthouse. B.P. Hyten's residence was a block further west on Lot 7, East half, Block 28. Arlene Hyten-Rainey is in possession of correspondence between Buckner and John after they had both left Iowa. They had left the property, if not the business, in the hands of another who was not taking care of their interests. Buckner was writing from Indiana to where he had returned.
Two of William Caywood's sons and a grandson, William Todd, fought in the Civil War. The first son to join was Thomas Newton (or Newport) (1842-1901) who at the age of 20 on September 13, 1861, enrolled in Company H of the 7th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers. On January 10,1863, he was discharged with a disability; having been involved in nine skirmishes. A year later he reenlisted, this time in Company I of the 121st (9th Calvary) Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers. He served till the end of the war, getting his discharge as a sergeant in Vicksburg on August28, 1865. He was 5'10", had a dark complexion with black eyes and hair.
Thomas N. Hyten and his family are listed in the 1880 census of Hendricks County,IN. The 1900 Hendricks County census lists with Thomas' family a nephew Uton D., born 8-1863, age 36, and a niece-in-law, Dora L., born7-1868, age 31. Because the birth dates are right, I think that this was (Dick) Newton Dickerson, the son of Dr. William Henry, and his wife Dora. Utonis probably a corruption of Newton. The same census lists Thomas's daughter Jennie (1878-?) as a resident, servant of G.D. Pearson in Hendricks County. She married Raymond Milan in 1910 and had a daughter Julia.
Thomas Newton's son, Oscar Owen(1894-1950), remained in Indiana and his heirs make up the bulk of the HYTENs left in their "home" state. He was a tenant farmer in Hendricks County. Oscar Owen and Mary A. Stutesman (1857-?) had five children after they were married in 1894. Rumor has it that they had two sons before they were married. The five were brought up with two half brothers who were said to be her children. This could account for the two children before marriage rumor. I couldn't find any record in Hendricks County of a previous marriage for her nor could I find the birth records of her two sons. Of course that doesn't mean that she wasn't married elsewhere. I had to put in that unsubstantiated rumor because it was about as "bad" as it gets in the HYTEN family. There are no scandals and no royalty, just a plain old American family.
Oscar's oldest were twins, Frank (1894-1964) and Fannie (1894-?). Both stayed in the Brownsburg area to raise their families. Frank's son, James Russell (1935-2011), was been in the tool and die business in which his son, (Todd) James Todd(1964-) joined him.
Henry Harrison Hyten (1900-1987) and Julia Almeda Grenard (1905-1999) raised five children in Brownsburg, IN. Henrywas first a farmer, then worked 28 years for International Harvester. He was a member of the town board inBrownsburg. He was an active Democrat in an extremely Republican county. I haven't found too many HYTENs active in politics at any level.
Two of his sons live in California. Oral Grenard(1925-) had no children, but (Tim) Gene Thomas (1928-) raised his family of six in Indiana before leaving for a trucking job on the West coast. Both brothers were Marines during the Second World War. Oral was a medical technician. Tim's son, Bruno Valentine (1950-), loves motorcycles so much that he and his wife, Monty Jo McCloskey (1952-),rode over to my house to pick up a copy of the draft of this book. It was a four hour ride from Indianapolis to Edwardsville, Illinois, on a terribly hot day.
The very first HYTEN that I contacted back in 1966, David Lawrence (1939-), is Henry's son and Oscar's grandson. While I was on a trip to Indianapolis, I saw his name in a phone book. By the time I first began corresponding with him, he was in Ft. Wayne working for Central Soya and getting transferred so often that I soon lost track of him. I found him again in 1987 when he was back in Indianapolis working for the state land acquisition department and studying to get a law degree. He is now a lawyer in the Pueblo, CO, area. |
| Page 5-6 JOHN FRANKLIN HYTEN |
John Franklin Hyten (1844-1881) was the other son of William Caywood to have served twice in the Civil War. At age 19 he enrolled as a private in Company B, 117th regiment of the Indiana volunteers and served from July 23,1863, till Feb. 23, 1864. On April 25, 1864 he re-enlisted for a 100-day term in the H Company of the 132nd Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers.
After his service in the Civil War John was enrolled for a year (1865-66) in an English course in the Preparatory Department at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN.. He then moved to Ames, Iowa, where he went to college and met and married (Hattie) Harriet Elizabeth Brown (1848-1923) of Boone, IA. Then in 1867 he, like Buckner, went to Boone County, Iowa, where he became a potter. Apparently he worked for or owned a couple of different businesses in the short time he was there. In addition to Kegley, Hyten & Co. he owned the Boonesboro Pottery. Arlene Hyten-Rainey has a business card which says "John F. Hyten. Proprietor. Boonesboro Pottery. Boonesboro, Iowa. Vases, Flower Pots, Well Curbing, Etc. Made To Order."
Because of poor health, maybe brought on by his military service,he sought a better climate by moving south to Missouri in 1871. By November 25,1872, he was in Callaway County, MO, where he worked for the Caldwell family pottery business. Thomas Caldwell had the first pottery business in Missouri. It dated back to 1827 on the Caldwell farm which became known as Pottersville. These Caldwells were related to John's uncle, Stephen Henson Hyten, who had earlier settled in Callaway County.
By 1875 John and his wife Hattie had moved south, again for his health, to Benton, Arkansas, where fine quality clay deposits made it possible for him to continue in the potter's trade. He bought, from John Howe,a pottery business that had begun in 1870 as Lafayette Glass. When he died in 1881, Frank Woosley ran the business for John's widow, Hattie. She married Woosley in 1882. In 1895 they went to Ohio where Frank was from originally.
On August 6, 1894, before Frank and Hattie left, John's three sons, Lee Elmer (1870-1940), Paul Henson (1872-1911), and Charles Dean(Bullet) (1877-1944), bought the business for $1000. Within a couple years Charles had bought out his brothers who followed their mother to South Solon, Ohio. Paul did return to Benton in 1906 and died there, childless, in 1911.
While John's work was of utilitarian nature, his son, Charles Dean's work was more artistic. His son was to become known throughout the art world. Charles Dean "Bullet" Hyten can probably claim more fame than any other HYTEN and yet those who collect his works most likely have never heard his name.
At a young age Charles went to work in the pottery business that his stepfather, Frank Woosley, had carried on after his father's death. It was in 1909 when experimenting with local clays called kaolin that he came upon an artistic combination of them which he named Niloak (the name of the clay spelled backwards). The original stoneware they produced was re-named Eagle Pottery.
By 1912 the swirling patterned clay vases were in such demand that Charles had to build a new factory and in 1920 further expand it. He had made Niloak Pottery Co. into a stock company in 1911 in order to raise the capital needed to expand. Sales were so good that by 1918 he reacquired sole ownership. In 1922 over 75,000 pieces were manufactured and sold from New York to California and Canada to Cuba. In 1924 he got a trademark on the name Niloak and in 1928 a patent on the process used to make each hand turned piece of Niloak. An employee, Ragen Rowland, told Arlene Rainey of seeing Bullet make 600 vases in 4 1/2 hours. Really??
Because of the popularity of the pottery during the 1920s, a showroom was built in 1929 to take advantage of the traffic on its way to nearby Hot Springs, AR. Benton newspapers of the period are full of stories of Bullet's trip around the country to promote the product by giving exhibitions of his pottery making skills. During the month of September in 1933, Bullet and his wife Cora Zella Caldwell (1877-1970) were at the Chicago World's Fair where he gave pottery exhibitions at the Arkansas Exhibit in the Hall of States.
Unfortunately the opening of the sales room corresponded with the beginning of the depression. In an attempt to retain volume during the depression, a less expensive line called Hywood was introduced. Unlike the colorful Niloak that had been hand turned, Hywood was cast in molds. These solid colored glazes over white clay were more a copy of Fiesta Ware than of Niloak. Later the Niloak name was to be put on some Hywood pieces. Throughout the entire operating life of the factory it continued to turn out Eagle Pottery stonewear.
Despite the popularity of his pottery, the firm was not able to survive the hard times. Because of the mortgage on the showroom, he lost control of the company in 1934 to a group of Little Rock businessmen headed by H.L. Wilburn. Bullet continued with the business until he sold his last remaining stock in 1939. From 1940 till his death in 1944 he worked for the Camask Pottery in Camden, Arkansas. His old company remained in operation until the mid-1950s. The site of the factory is now bulldozed flat.
In March and April, 1973, the Saline County, AK, Pacesetter published a four part series written by Arlene that details the history of Niloak pottery. It is a much more detailed account of the operation. I also have a 1993 book, The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Niloak by David Edwin Grifford.
Bullet was very active in the community and the local Presbyterian church. He was a stockholder in the Bank of Benton and secretary treasurer of the Southern Bauxite Company. In 1944 he accidentally drowned while wading in the Saline River.
Today, Niloak is still sought by collectors who are willing to pay dearly for the silky, smooth pieces. In 1989 I saw a five inch tall vase with an original $2.50 price tag which was being sold for $75.00. I was lucky enough to find for myself a slightly chipped piece for a more reasonable $35.00. Bullet's daughter, (Arlene) Mabel Arlene Hyten-Rainey (1916-), of Benton, AR, has an extensive collection of her father's works including some vases over 24" high. She is frequently asked to speak at museums and galleries about his work. His name will live on in Arkansas' history books and as will his work at the tables of the nation's antique shows and flea markets.
Arlene has been very helpful to me, providing much information and many pictures. Her interests go beyond the HYTEN family. She is one of the organizers of Benton's little museum. She is researching many of the families that settled the Benton area. One of those that I mentioned before was the Caldwells of her mother. They had been in Kentucky with the HYTENs. Some had gone to Missouri where her grandfather had joined them in their pottery business. Others came to Arkansas after the Civil War.
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